Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Sinbei City mayoral candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday attended the first large-scale campaign event organized by the party’s Taipei County branch, targeting attacks at his rival, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Accompanied by Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), who was persuaded to withdraw from the competition by senior party officials, Chu promised to establish Sinbei as a competitive city with the construction of several MRT lines over the next 10 years.
“Sinbei City will be as competitive as Taipei City. I will devote all my effort to the development of the city, and will be a mayor who cooperates with both central and local governments,” he said in Taipei County’s administrative capital, Banciao.
Chu also promised not to use the position of Sinbei mayor as a springboard for the presidential election in 2012, something he said Tsai was certain to do.
“We do not want a mayor who leaves to campaign in 2012, and we do not want a mayor who will confront the central government and refuse to cooperate with our neighbors in Taipei City and Taoyuan City,” he added.
Tsai announced her intention to run in Sinbei City last night. Since former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) declared his intention to run in the Taipei City mayoral race, many DPP figures had urged Tsai to represent the party in the Sinbei race.
Chou cited municipal projects in Taipei County, including the dredging of the Danshui River and assured supporters that Chu would continue such programs and work hard to improve the competitiveness of the county after it is upgraded into Sinbei City in December.
The outgoing commissioner declined to confirm whether or not he would serve as campaign manager for Chu’s election team, but said he will continue to work as a “volunteer” and campaign for Chu.
Chu thanked Chou for his full support and putting party unity first. He also said the two men would unite during the election campaign to stop rivals from using their previous competition as a smear campaign against him.
Elections for the heads of five special municipalities will take place on Nov. 27 in Taipei City, Sinbei City (the upgraded Taipei County), Greater Taichung (a merger of Taichung City and Taichung County), Greater Tainan (a merger of Tainan City and Tainan County) and Greater Kaohsiung (a merger of Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County).
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